Silent Night
by SETI-fan
Summary: After a nightmare, Raven heads to the roof for some solitude, but finds she is not alone.


**This was written as a Secret Santa gift for gale-slash at Tumblr. She requested Raven/Terra fluff. Not sure if I got it as fluffy as desired, but hopefully they'll enjoy it anyway!**

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Raven awoke with a start, a ripple of energy cascading a trail of damage across the items in her room. She caught a toppling candlestick with her powers before it fell, resetting it, then pulled her knees to her chest, catching her breath.

The nightmare had been fairly normal for her—jumbled images of fire and destruction, hate-filled glares from Azarathians and her teammates, and always, without fail, _his_ voice. She shuddered anew wondering whether it was just echoes from her memories or if Trigon actually had found a way to reach out to her even here on Earth.

Pushing those thoughts from her head, Raven shoved her blanket to the foot of the bed and settled into the lotus position. Murmuring her mantra to herself, she tried to get back into a calmer state of mind.

As she began to relax, however, a scene from her dream flashed through her head with new clarity. A giant rock above her head, the Tower—her home—sinking inexorably down on top of her and Terra, just as it had several days ago. This time, though, she lost control. Her powers faltered and the mass of rock dropped, racing down to crush her as she failed—

She fell down onto the bed, thrown out of her meditative state. Her breath huffed as she tried to slow her heart rate.

Deciding things might work better out in fresh air, where she could distance herself from the memory of being in that cave deep beneath the earth, Raven threw on her cloak and headed for the roof. Fortunately, no one else seemed to have been awakened by her nightmare, so she should be able to take a little time to center herself, then return to bed without comment.

Stepping out onto the roof, she caught a brief glimpse of a bundle lying in the middle of the volleyball court before the sound of the door caused it to stir and yelp in surprise.

Chunks of concrete from the roof suddenly flew into the air toward her. Raven flinched back, throwing up a shield to block them as her dream flashed through her head again.

The concrete dropped abruptly to the ground as she heard a gasp. "Raven! I'm sorry! I—I was just startled and I…"

Raven lowered the shield, following the familiar voice to the nervous-looking girl sitting on the volleyball court. "It's all right. I didn't expect anyone to be up here either."

"Still, I just… Sorry." Terra grimaced at the torn up concrete between them. "Man, now I'm going to have to explain to everybody why I was up here."

Raven picked her way across the rubble. She noticed the blanket Terra had been wrapped in. "Not that it's any of my business, but is something wrong with your room?"

Terra's eyes widened. "No! No, I love my room. It's amazing. It's just…" She rubbed her arm awkwardly, looking away. "I'm not used to being inside this much. The sky you guys painted on my ceiling is great, don't get me wrong, but… Sometimes it just starts feeling kind of cramped in there. Like the air's dead or something."

Raven thought of the trapped feeling she had after her failed meditation attempt minutes ago and nodded. "I'll let you get back to sleep then."

"Wait," Terra called after her. "Did you need the roof? 'Cause I can go back in."

"No, it wasn't important," Raven said, turning to go.

"Raven?" She paused again at Terra's question. "Why did you come up here? It's, like, three in the morning. Even Robin's not up yet."

"It was nothing."

Terra leaned forward, hugging her knees. "Most people don't go out to the roof in the middle of the night because of nothing," she coaxed, smirking slightly challengingly.

Raven hesitated. While she had accepted Terra into her family of Titans over the last few days, even started to like the girl, she didn't really want to reveal her full history to Terra yet. She hadn't even told her original teammates more than the absolute minimum so far.

"I was going to meditate."

Terra's eyebrows arched. "Now?"

Raven sighed. "I had…a bad night."

Terra sat back, her expression softening. "Oh. Sorry. Bad dreams?"

Raven grunted noncommittally, moving to head for the door again.

"I didn't think you'd be afraid of anything."

"Everyone's afraid of something," Raven said, a bit of darkness leaking through her voice.

"Well, hey, you don't have to go," Terra called, waving to the open space around them. "There's plenty of roof. I'll move over to the other side."

Raven looked at the door, longing to go back inside and pretend they had never seen each other, but she knew she would have trouble focusing as long as she was indoors. Besides, Terra's emotions wouldn't cause any more distraction than the rest of her teammates', especially once she fell back asleep.

As Terra scooted her blanket and pillow further away, Raven settled on the edge of the roof, floating into the air. Immediately, she felt the benefit of the change in location. The night wind blew in off the ocean, cool and fragrant with salt. She could feel the infinite openness of space above her, unobstructed by any roof or walls. The lights and emotion of the city were distant, like a hum of crickets on the other side of a field. Her concerns and nerves faded, giving way to calm, balance, and quiet.

"Raven?"

It was a testament to how effective even surface level meditation worked that Raven managed to answer the interruption in a steady voice without any sparks of dark energy. "Yes, Terra?"

The girl's voice sounded closer than where she had been setting up her makeshift bed. "You said you meditate every day to keep control of your powers?"

"Yes."

"And…it works?"

"I haven't killed anyone yet," Raven answered, eyes still closed. "And I've lived with Beast Boy for more than two years."

"Right." Terra hesitated, her nervous energy drifting across Raven like waves lapping at her feet. "Um, any chance you'd be willing to, you know…teach me how?"

Now Raven looked back, surprised. "You want to learn how to meditate?"

The girl stood nearby, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "Yeah. I mean, if it's okay with you."

"I thought you had your powers under control now," Raven said, a bit drier than she intended.

Terra looked away, kicking at a pebble. "It's going pretty good, but I'd kind of like to learn another way of controlling them. You know, in case what I'm doing now…doesn't work out."

Raven turned, eyeing Terra seriously. "The techniques I use took me years of training to master and your powers probably work differently than mine."

Terra's eyes lowered, her cheeks reddening. "Right. That's okay; just thought I'd ask."

"I didn't say no," Raven replied. "I just want to make sure you know it isn't a magic fix and it isn't easy. Maintaining control of my powers is something I have to work at daily. If you want me to teach you, I will, but don't get mad if it doesn't work the immediately."

"I won't!" Terra nodded, perking up excitedly. "I promise!"

Raven watched in slight disbelief as Terra eagerly plopped down beside her, trying to pull her legs into the lotus position. "Uh, you wanted to start now?"

"Yeah!" Terra settled on just sitting with her legs crossed. She hesitated, smile fading. "Um, unless you don't want to."

Raven looked at the other girl, pinned by her big, worried eyes. As unsettled as her mind still was from the nightmare, Raven wasn't exactly in the mood to play teacher. But she couldn't shake the memory of Terra's constant fear months ago when she had been barely able to restrain her powers. For all the misgivings Raven had had about her and as irritating as it had been seeing her come back having so easily achieved mastery of her powers, that terror was painfully familiar. They both knew all too well the cost that would result if their fragile control was lost.

Her mind was drawn back to Azarath, to Azar's patient instruction and reassurance as she had struggled to contain the destructive energy that brewed so easily just under the surface of her skin. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that without that guidance, she would have destroyed the world or herself long ago.

Now, as Terra sat beseeching her for help, how could she not pass on the gift that Azar had given her?

Raven sighed and nodded, smiling slightly. "Sit straight with your hands resting on your knees and close your eyes."

Terra beamed, then did as she was told.

"For tonight, we'll just practice breathing and entering a calm state of mind. The goal is to clear your mind and try to quiet all your thoughts. Since we're out here, try to time your breaths to the waves. In with one wave, out with the next."

Raven slowed her own rhythm in demonstration. Gradually, she heard Terra's breathing even out and her nervous energy began to fade away. Satisfied she was on the right track, Raven allowed herself to relax into her own mindscape.

It eventually occurred to Raven that she had been meditating for a rather long time for a beginner, yet Terra hadn't stopped, asked questions, or gotten frustrated. Intrigued, she extended her senses to the check in on her teammate's mindset. She half expected to find the girl asleep, but instead, Terra's energy was calm, peaceful, and free of fear.

Raven found herself opening her eyes to look at the girl in surprise. When Starfire joined in meditation, she would try for a while, then her mind would begin to wander, since her powers needed no restraint, instead using the time instead to simply enjoy Raven's company quietly. Raven appreciated this, but it was nice to find someone else actively working toward control.

Terra's face was relaxed in the moonlight, her body synchronized with the movement of the bay. For once, there was no insecurity around her, no desperate craving for approval. Wherever her mind was, it seemed to be doing her some good.

Raven's memory flashed back to the Slade's chamber beneath the earth, the roof crushing down on them again. This time, though, she remembered Terra standing beside her, their powers united in the single goal of preventing that disaster. If their combined strengths were able to lift the entire Tower, a home they both so deeply needed, what else might they be able to accomplish by working together?

She realized she was staring and blushed, even though the other girl was still focused internally. Regaining her composure, Raven lowered her feet to the ground. "Terra?"

Terra drew a deep breath, as if waking from a long sleep, and she blinked a few times. She looked around, slightly startled.

"It's all right," Raven assured her. "You did well."

"I did?" Terra scrubbed a hand through her hair. "Wow. That felt…amazing."

"You're a natural," Raven said, offering her hand to help Terra up. "I think this might actually work."

"Really?" Her eyes held a dubious, but hopeful shine.

"Really. But that's enough for the first time. We can try more another time."

"Raven, thank you!" Before Raven could react, Terra had her wrapped in a painfully tight hug.

"Don't mention it," she grunted, freeing herself. "Now get some sleep. Robin doesn't put off training just because of a bad night."

"Right. Good night, Raven," Terra said, strolling over to pick up her blanket and pillow. "Hope you don't have any more nightmares."

Even though it hadn't been what she had planned on, Raven was pleased to realize she had indeed found the peace of mind she had come up seeking.

She paused again, watching Terra lay back down on the hard concrete roof. "Terra?"

"Yeah?"

"Try a scent."

Terra sat up, looking self-conscious. "What?"

As the other girl glanced at her armpits, Raven sighed. "That's not what I meant. For your room. When I first moved here, I found some incense that smells similar to the temple where I grew up. It helped make it feel more like home."

Terra's face softened again. "Thanks, Raven."

Raven nodded and headed back into the stairwell. There were some things she knew she couldn't fix, some monsters that would continue to haunt her, but she could feel the shadows shrinking back at least for one more night.


End file.
